McKinsey & Bain Increase Recruitment Of London Business School MBAs

Big Three management consulting firms, McKinsey and Bain & Company, increased their hiring of MBA graduates from London Business School by 30% in 2021, according to the school’s latest MBA employment report.

McKinsey & Company was the biggest recruiter of LBS MBAs in 2021, hiring 56 graduates compared with 43 in 2020. Bain hired 34 in 2021 compared with 26 in 2020.

Fellow Big Three firm, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), hired 39 LBS MBAs as consulting firms plan to increase their MBA starting salaries. Other top recruiters include Amazon, Kearney and major finance and consulting firms.

The London Business School MBA is one of the most prestigious in Europe, and close to 500 students join the cohort each year. The program is also highly diverse—92% of the 497 MBA students in the LBS MBA class of 2021 were international, from 66 different nationalities.

And 92% of them accepted employment offers three months after graduating. This is up from 90% in 2020, another sure-sign that the MBA jobs market is recovering from the impact of pandemic. 

McKinsey, Bain, BCG hire the most MBAs from London Business School

Out of all LBS MBA students hired by consulting companies in 2021, 56% joined McKinsey & Company. This is higher than in 2020, when 43% of students who entered the consulting industry went to work for McKinsey.

The proportion of students hired by Bain also rose, with 34% of consulting-focused MBA students at LBS hired by Bain in 2021, compared with 26% in 2020.

In finance, the biggest recruiters of LBS MBAs were Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, but students also accepted jobs at Citi and Goldman Sachs. Elsewhere, students also joined AB InBev and Johnson & Johnson. 

Other big names are found in the technology sector. At the top, 29% of LBS MBA grads who entered the tech industry were hired by Amazon. LBS MBA students also joined Google, Microsoft, TikTok, and more top recruiters of MBA graduates.

LBS MBA salaries on the rise, with lucrative salaries at the Big Three Consulting firms

According to our BusinessBecause Cost of MBA Report, the total cost of an MBA increased by 4.7% in 2021. With both tuition fees and the cost of living in London to take into account, LBS students will be hoping to achieve high returns after graduating.

Fortunately, LBS MBA graduates achieved a median base salary of $114,526 in 2021 after graduation, in line with the global average.

This is a step up from 2020 when LBS MBAs achieved a median base starting salary of $106,220.

Consulting salaries for MBA grads are among the most lucrative, especially at McKinsey, Bain, and BCG.

Yet LBS MBAs in finance earn the most, $123,231 on average, an increase of more than $10,000 from 2020. LBS MBA salaries in finance ranged from $32,566 to $183,926. 

LBS MBAs who accepted roles in technology saw the biggest jump, from a median base salary of $97,309 in 2020 to $104,830 in 2021. 

Read: Top 10 Most Affordable MBA Programs In The UK

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Consulting is the most popular industry for LBS MBAs, followed by technology and finance

Unsurprisingly, the most popular industry for LBS MBA graduates is consulting, dominated by McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, with 38% of students accepting a role in the sector in 2021. 

A large number of LBS MBAs also accepted jobs in technology in 2021 (26%), approximately the same number as 2020. 

This follows global MBA trends. According to research from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), 45% of international MBA applicants desire jobs in tech, second only to consulting. 

Business school experts predict that the technology sector will drive an MBA jobs boom in 2022.

Within technology, most graduates found roles in internet or e-commerce. Smaller numbers of students were hired in FinTech (5%) and HealthTech (1%).

However, the biggest shift in LBS MBA hiring has been in the finance sector. In 2020, 21% of LBS MBA graduates accepted jobs in finance. This rose to 26% in 2021. 

LBS graduates also increasingly go on to work as self-employed or start their own business. The number of graduates working in this area was 32, compared with 29 in 2020. 

50% of LBS grads used their MBA to switch industries

Visa rules help more LBS MBAs land jobs in the UK

Although LBS MBA students accepted job offers in 37 different countries in 2021, the most popular destination for LBS graduates was the UK. 52% of graduates accepted jobs in the UK compared with 42% in 2020. 

LBS credits this to the UK’s post-study visa, a route which allows non-EU international students to stay in the UK for two years after graduating. Despite the disruption caused by Brexit, it’s clear that the UK remains a popular place for MBAs, driven by global cities like London. 

The increase in LBS students accepting jobs in the UK corresponded with lower numbers of students accepting jobs in North America and Europe. In 2020, 13% and 11% of grads found jobs in these respective destinations, compared with 9% and 10% in 2021.

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